Randolph Tower, Chicago, IL

Rewerts was retained by the City of Chicago Law Department to address an emergency situation on this 46-story historic office building located in downtown Chicago, when pieces of architectural terra cotta reportedly had fallen from the facade. After the streets and elevated train lines around the structure were temporarily closed, Rewerts was appointed by the Court to direct and manage the emergency stabilization of the entire facade of this large building. This included a comprehensive hands-on inspection of the entire exterior facade of the building.

The condition of the facade was found to be critical in many areas, with many cracked, displaced, and loose sections of terra cotta. Many attempts had been made in the past to "hold" or stabilize cracked or laterally displaced architectural terra cotta units with caulking, but ongoing corrosion of the underlying steel frame and steel connections caused many unsafe conditions to develop. Many areas of the architectural terra cotta column covers were found to be under a high degree of compressive stress. This was deemed to be due to corrosion of steel shelf angles in those column covers.

Thos. Rewerts & Co., LLC913-424-5180​t.rewerts@rewerts.com

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